Chapter 39 (2/2)
He then made a brilliant pass to Ren Yu De, who knocked the ball ahead with the inner soles of his feet. As he rushed forward after detecting an opportunity, Kai Ta’s No. 4, Li Ding, a defender on the flanks made his approach. He knew of Ren Yu De’s formidability; the Shu Guang player’s elaborate skills were rated among the top five―with a little space, he could fend off anyone. That was why Li Ding did not wait and he carefully made his defensive approach, keeping sure that he did not make even a tiny bit of error.
Facing such an attentive opponent, Ren Yu De―unable to find an opening―returned the ball to Kaka.
…
“Who will be the focus in this game? Yang Pan, Kaka or Yuan Gang?” Xiao Zhang asked excitedly as he watched the game.
“Nope. It’ll be Zhang Jun,” Chen Huafeng replied.
“Zhang Jun? That striker? Doesn’t look like an outstanding character!”
“The key to this game lies in Zhang Jun ability; he will decide whether Shu Guang wins or loses.”
“No way? Yang Pan’s long shot is an invincible weapon! And he’s the captain too―the spiritual backbone of the team!”
Huafeng sighed. “And that’s the difference between an intern and an experienced reporter. You’re right that Yang Pan’s long shots are formidable and that he’s the captain. But when it comes to leadership, I believe Zhang Jun is the man.”
“Him? That trivial main character?”
“From a technical point of view, yes, Yang Pan’s shooting is powerful, but in the preliminaries last year, Zhang Jun scored five goals and he was the top scorer of his team; furthermore, he missed out on the last game due to an injury.”
“Yang Pan scored four too!” Xiao Zhang argued, not letting up. “And the coach also told him to suppress his shots.”
“That’s right. In that game against Zhongyuan, Yang Pan scored two alone and suppressed their defenses by himself―but why did he still lose? It doesn’t matter how impenetrable a team’s defense is, how great their synergy is or how much skill they have in passing the ball around―if they have no one to send the ball into the other team’s net, how can they win? All their hard work will go down the drain. The presence of a good striker is vital to any team. You may refer to Kempes, from the Argentinian squad in the 1978 World Cup. Yang Pan and Ren Yu De were never pure strikers―only Zhang Jun, a classical striker, is a complete and excellent shooting specialist. His high rate of scoring and stability in his movement were the linchpin for Shu Guang’s meteoric rise last year.”
“Even if you’re right, why would you say that he’s the spiritual leader of the team? To my knowledge, it’s the captains who inspire their team’s morale.”
“You’re correct once more, but Shu Guang’s circumstances are special. Yang Pan is a player of professional caliber and Zhongyuan is of a formidable caliber too―they are at the pinnacle of the national standard. If I wrote an article about them now, I would be able to predict where they’d be in the future. But for Zhang Jun, I could never tell what heights he would reach or how influential he would become. His growth has been stunning and his future indefinite.
“And then there’s his aloof demeanor, which makes him appear fine against anything; but if you believe for once that it’s his true colors, you’re in for trouble. It’s as if there are different Zhang Juns, you know? Once he’s on the pitch he’d emit an aura that gains the trust of his teammates and they’d pass the ball to him. Zhang Jun is the ultimate point for soccer. It does not matter how, he will score. Stalemates are always broken because of that inconspicuous No. 11. Think about the game between Shu Guang and Nanyang and how he scored his hat-trick. You’ll understand. A player who never lets his teammates down and brings hope as well as triumph, is such a person not the spiritual leader of his team?”
Still, Xiao Zhang was not convinced. It was true that finding Zhang Jun’s good points was not easy; Chen Huafeng himself only got to that conclusion after one whole year of following Shu Guang closely. Then, he suddenly remembered that bet he made last year with Sun Liang Liang―whenever he chose who to wager on someone, he never lost. At that thought, Huafeng smiled. “What about this, let’s make a bet. I think that Zhang Jun will be the key to this game, you think not. We’ll do a wager that whoever loses will treat the winner to dinner. How about that?”
Being an exuberant young man, Xiao Zhang did not even think it through before he agreed to the bet. “Fine! No pulling out!”
“Absolutely! Absolutely!” Chen Huafeng smiled and nodded.
…
The stands exploded in cheers as the ball went to Yang Pan’s feet.
“Long shot! Long shot! Long shot!” Shu Guang’s cheerleading team chanted in one voice.
Yang Pan looked up to see a clear route towards the goal. He went forward two paces, preparing to shoot, but someone slid in and knocked the ball away.
“Liu Peng!” Yang Pan called out, startled.
The other player smiled at him. “Long time no see, let’s have a greeting!”
“You’re marking me? What about Zhang Jun? Don’t you know how good he is?” A surprising turn of events; Yang Pan was shocked, not at the sight of his old friend but because Liu Peng was not marking Zhang Jun. After all, Liu Peng should know better than anyone of Zhang Jun’s influence as former teammates.
“I know and I do so better than anyone. That would forever be…” Liu Peng’s face darkened, but soon he lifted his voice and shot back at Yang Pan, “Instead of worrying about others, why don’t you think about how you’re going to get past me first!”
“You’re that confident about stopping me?” Yang Pan smiled.
“Come on!” Liu Peng point at his own chest.
…
Yang Pan was on the ball again but this time, Liu Peng did not get near him―he stayed around four meters away instead. At such a distance, whether Yang Pan wanted to shoot or dash through, he would not be shaking off Liu Peng’s zonal defense.
Facing his former teammate who offered no openings, Yang Pan sighed and passed the ball. He knew very well just how dominating the 188-cm youth in front of him could be. A strong body, agile pacing, stunning explosiveness and an excellent foresight earned him the nickname of “Iron Curtain” in middle school. He had even experienced the bitter taste of his boot and it was best if he did not make for a hard break if he did not have absolute certainty.
“What? Afraid of me?” Liu Peng smiled.
“Hmph!” Yang Pan pouted. “There’s still 75 minutes, aren’t you afraid of turning into a clown?”
…
It was six minutes after the game started when Zhang Jun first got to the ball. There was little wonder since he was being moody and running a lot less than usual. Kaka was also failing to find the right timing to pass the ball to him.
But then opportunity came. Kaka dodged Kai Ta’s defensive midfielder, Yu Wenjun’s attempt to steal the ball and sent a precise pass to Zhang Jun’s feet.
Getting the ball, the striker suddenly found that the one marking him was not a center back but…
“Yuan Gang!” Yang Pan exclaimed. The Kai Ta captain was an attacking midfielder, so why was he appearing in his own half and keeping Zhang Jun in check?
Zhang Jun was in shock too.
“Monkey?”
“Remember what I said? Don’t get cold feet!” Yuan Gang stared at him as he huffed out every word.